Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to handles for carrying items, such as packages, bags, cartons or other containers, and more particularly, to adhesively applied handles.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is well-known that handles can be attached to items to facilitate carrying. Handles can be attached directly to objects designed to be carried or to the containers or packaging housing the items, for example, cardboard boxes and paper and plastic bags. These containers can have separate handles attached to the container in some way or they can be a unitary part of the container, formed as appendages or hand-receiving openings.
A common problem with handles made of the same material as the product packaging is that they are prone to tearing or breaking under the weight of the product unless the entire packaging is made of high-strength materials, which is disadvantageous for reasons of cost. To overcome this problem, the present invention provides adhesively attachable handles, made of relatively high strength materials. In this way, stronger, more costly materials need only be used at the handle where the stresses are the greatest. It also makes opening the package easier for the consumer, since the package doesn""t need to be made out of the same high strength material as the handle.
Also, some bag or box styles do not include or can""t be made to include a handle. Therefore, an attachable handle can be used with these styles of packages.
Known adhered handles have suffered from drawbacks such the means of attaching the handle, complex structure and difficult assembly or application.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved adhered carrying handle.
The present invention provides a high-strength adhered carrying handle that, among other things, can be adhered to bags, cartons and packages of any shape and are formed flat to be compactly stored and readily assembled, or provided on a continuous web and automatically applied.
Specifically, the invention is a handle for carrying a bag, container, package or the like formed into a structure secured to a release liner. The handle has first, second and third panels. The first panel has contiguous first and second panel parts. The first panel part has an outer edge and a first cut line defining a first hand receiving opening. The second panel extends in a plane substantially parallel with the first panel part from the outer edge of the first panel part to an inner edge adjacent to the junction between the first and second parts of the first panel. The second panel has a second cut line defining a second hand receiving opening at least partially in registration with the first hand receiving opening. The third panel is substantially coplanar with the second panel part and has an inner edge extending from the inner edge of the second panel. Undersides of the second panel part and the third panel are releasably adhered to the release liner.
In a preferred form, the handle is a single sheet of material folded flat to form the first, second and third panels. Fold lines form the outer edges of the first panel part and the second panel and the inner edges of the second and third panels. The second and third panels are releasably joined by a dry release adhesive to maintain a flat profile of the handle on the release liner and on the package, until the handle is used by a user.
The invention can provide a spool or a fan-folded stack of handles on a continuous web or strip of release liner. The release liner is releasably adhered to a plurality of handles for use in automated assembly of the handles to product packaging. The plurality of handles are preferably spaced from each other in alignment as needed depending on the size of the package and the rate it is traveling when the handle is being assembled. The folds of the handle are preferably parallel to the machine direction of application of the handles.
The handle can be attached automatically or manually via the adhesive at the underside of the second panel part and the third panel to a package at a single upper surface or multiple side (and/or top) surfaces.
The sheet material forming the panels is preferably a high-strength plastic film, the grade and gauge of which is selected according to the size and weight of the item to be contained in the package. Also, the first panel part and the second panel preferably include two arcuate slits at the ends of their respective cut lines forming the hand-receiving openings. These arcuate slits increase the stresses that the handle can withstand at the sides of a person""s hand holding the handle.
In a method of making a series of handles of the invention from a continuous web, for each series of handles to be made in the web, a series of sets of two hand holes are cut for each handle, each set of two hand holes being spaced apart in a machine direction from the next set of two hand holes. The two hand holes of each set are formed opposite from one another on opposite sides of an outer edge of a first panel part of each handle. Two spaced apart and parallel folds are made in the web parallel to the machine direction such that the first fold corresponds to the outer edge of the first panel part and the second fold corresponds to the inner edge of a second panel which overlaps the first panel part of the first panel. The first panel extends beyond the second fold and the second fold also corresponds to the inner edge of a third panel which overlaps the second panel, so as to provide the web in a generally flat state.
The second panel may be releasably adhered to the third panel to hold them flat together, and cuts may be made perpendicular to the machine direction between each set of two hand holes to separate individual handles from one another. In addition, the folded web may be releasably adhered to a release liner before cutting the web into individual handles, and the release liner may be rolled up, fan folded or cut apart into individual units.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In this description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration preferred embodiments of the invention. Such embodiments do not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference must be made therefore to the claims for interpreting the scope of the invention.